THE

CRITICAL REVIEW.

For the Month of October, 1768.

ARTICLE I.

The Hiftory of Hindoftan; from the earliest Account of Time, to the Death of Akbar; tranflated from the Perfian of Mahúmmud Cafim Ferifhta of Delhi: together with a Differtation concerning the Religion and Philofophy of the Brahmins; with an Appendix, containing the Hiftory of the Mogul Empire, from its Decline in the Reign of Mahummud Shaw, to the prefent Times. By Alexander Dow. In two Volumes. 4to. Pr. l. 15. Becket and De Hondt. [Concluded.]

HIS hiftory is the strongest proof, perhaps, that ever was

of holds

the good things of this life, fuch as gold, jewels, and luxuries of every denomination. We find here a fett of miscreants poffeffing them in a profufion that renders the magnificence of old Rome in her higheft glory, more contemptible in the reader's eye than a pedlar's pack. He has not even the confolation to think, that the accounts of it are exaggerated, because they are confirmed by unquestionable evidences of latter days. Even the fourfcore millions fterling, which, in 1739, were carried from Hindoftan by Nadir Shah, does not, at prefent, feem to haye diminished the opulence of that country. In short, the riches we here meet with excel quicquid Græcia, daudet mendax, in biftoriâ.

Alla ul dien, called Secunder Sani, or Alexander the second, is the next fultan we meet with in this performance. He rofe to the throne or mufnub by the treacherous murder of his prince

VOL. XXVI. 0a. 1768.

1

and patron, who had cherished him from his infancy in his bo fom. His reign, like that of his predeceffors, is a series of barbarities, treachery, and impurities of every kind. One of his generals, Cafoor, who was his catamite, defeated the raja of the Carnatic; and the reader may form fome idea of Hindoftan treasures from the following extract.

• Malleck Naib Cafoor having wearied his own inhumanity and avarice, in destroying and robbing an unfortunate people, refolved to return to Delhi with his fpoils. The night before his intended march, a quarrel arose among some Brahmins who had taken protection in his camp from the plundering parties that fcoured the country. Some body who understood their language, found the quarrel was about the divifion of fome hidden treasure, which was immediately communicated to the Cufwal, who feized them and carried them to Malleck Cafoor to be examined. They were at first very obftinate; but their lives being threatened, and each being queftioned apart, they were afraid one would inform against the other, by which means they discovered all they knew. Seven different places

*

were pointed out near the camp, where immense treasures were concealed. Thefe being dug up and placed upon elephants, Malleck Cafoor turned the points of his fpears to Delhi, where he arrived without any remarkable occurrence, in the year 711. He prefented the fultan with 312 elephants, 20,000 horfes, 96,oco maunds of gold, several chefts of jewels and pearls, and other precious things The fultan upon seeing this treasure, which far exceeded that of Baadawird or Pirvez, was greatly rejoiced, and opened the doors of his bounty to all. He gave to each of the principal omrahs ten maunds, and to the inferior five. The learned men of his court received one maund, and thus in proportion, he diftributed wealth to all his fervants, according to their rank and quality. The remainder was melted down, coined and lodged in the treasury. It is faid, that during this expedition to the Carnatic, the foldiers threw the filver they found away, as too cumbersome, where gold was found in fuch plenty. No perfon wore bracelets, chains, or rings of any other metal than gold,

*This treasure may appear to exceed all belief in the eyes of Europeans: but if we confider the Hindoos as a mercantile people, and not disturbed perhaps by wars for thousands of years; and add to this, that it is the invariable cuftom of that race, to live with the abftinence of hermits in the midst of wealth, our wonder will ceafe, and the credit of our author remain intire. The gold alone amounts to about one hundred millions of our money,

8

while

while all the plate in the houfes of the great, and in the temples, was of beaten gold; neither was filver money at all current in that country, should we believe the reports of those ad

venturers.'

Before Ul Dien's death, Cafoor had treacherously paved his way to the mufnub; and, though a eunuch, he married one of the fultanas: but being affaffinated, Mubarick, a monster of cruelty and ingratitude, mounted the throne. He being in his turn affaffinated by one of his infamous favourites, Chufero Chan mounted the throne, who was alfo killed, and fucceeded by Yeas ul dien, whofe origin is unknown, but who is an exception to the general run of Hindoftan princes, for he poffeffed many good qualifications; but was killed by the falling of a house, as fome thought by the contrivance of his fon Mahummud Shaw, who fucceeded him. This prince is faid to have been religious, generous, and a patron of learning, but a mere hypocrite; for he was vindictive and inhuman, delighting in the blood of his fubjects, and condemning them, without distinction of right or wrong, to cruel and ignominious deaths. During his reign, the Moguls invaded Hindostan; but he bribed them with an immenfe treasure to retire. He made, however, great conquefts, and is faid to have raised at one time three hundred and feventy thousand horfe. His armies were fo numerous, that he was obliged to iffue copper-money to pay them; and being forced to recal it, he fchemed the conqueft of China, but failed in the attempt; for almoft his whole army fell a prey to famine in fifteen days, fcarce a man coming back to relate the particulars, except thofe who had been left behind in the garrifons. A few of these escaped, indeed, the rage of the enemy, but could not fly from the more fatal tyranny of their emperor, who ordered them to be put to death, upon their return to Delhi.

From the accounts we have of this expedition, we are inclined to think, that it is not fully represented, and that some fimilarity of religion, or other matters, might render the Hindoos (a people who choose death before the fmalleft infraction of worship, or ceremony) backward, in marching against the Chinese, who are a people ftill lefs martial, if poffible, than themselves. From the particular extravagancies of this fultan, there is reafon to fufpect the foundnefs of his head. After a turbulent and cruel reign of twenty-feven years, in which the number of thofe whom he murdered or maffacred are equal to two-thirds of the inhabitants of Europe, he died in the year 1351. He feems to have laboured, fays our hiftorian, with no contemptible abilities to be detefted by God, and feared and abhorred by men,

At the time of Mahummad's death, we perceive that the Mogul mercenaries formed great part of his army, and plundered his treasures. The omrahs raifed Ferofe Shaw, who was of the imperial blood, to the throne; and he cleared his country of the Mogul, mercenaries. This fultan applied himself to public works, cutting canals and building forts; and, after a long and glorious reign, he refigned his crown to his fon, who took the name of Mahummud Shaw, in the year 1387. Ma. hummud proved to be as great a monfter as fome of his pre. deceffors, and being expelled from his capital, his aged father Ferofe raised one of his grandfons, Tughlick Shaw, to the throne. Ferofe died in the 90th year of his age.

He reigned thirty-eight years and nine months, and left many memorials of his magnificence in the land. He built fifty great fluices, forty mofques, thirty fchools, twenty caravanferas, an hundred palaces, five hofpitals, an hundred tombs, fen baths, ten fpires, one hundred and fifty wells, one hundred bridges and the pleasure-gardens he made were without number.'

Tughlick proved a weak and tyrannic prince, and was flain by confpirators. He was fucceeded by one of his kinfmen, Bicker Shaw; but Mahummud Shaw, who was still alive, recovered the throne, and entered Delhi in 1389. A civil war between the two competitors enfued, in which Mahummud remained victorious. He died in 1392, and was fucceeded by his eldest son, who reigned only forty-five days. His brother Mammood was raised to the throne, and a civil war between him and a rival enfued, which reduced the empire to great diftrefs. We have a very flight account of the particulars; but they must have been of great confequence, as they invited Amir Timur, whom we shall call Tamerlane, to invade the empire, by a bridge which he threw over the Sind. Ferifhta says, that his general was Mirza Pier Mahummud Jehangire, Tamerlane's grandfon, This feems, however, to be a mistake, for he was the fon of Jehangire; and he took poffeffion, after a fix month's fiege, of Moultan. We are here to remark, that Tamerlane's expedition was far from being a new project; for the Mogul mercenaries, who had been employed in the armies of Hindoftan, were in fact his fubjects; and scarcely a year paffed in which they did not invade that empire with variou fuccefs. Tamerlane, like other eaftern tyrants, moft of whom he excelled in barbarity and cruelty, as well as in genius and ambition, made religion his pretext for invading the harmless Hindoos. Being informed, that though Mahommedifm was profeffed in Delhi, and other great

cities of Hindoftan, yet the greater part of its provinces were inhabited by idolaters; he therefore undertook the expedition in perfon, and maffacred all the inhabitants who could not redeem their lives with money.

According to Ferifhta, he found his grandfon Pier Mahummud fhut up by his enemies in Moultan, but he relieved him. The authentic hiftories of Tamerlane are far more fatisfactory than that of Ferifhta's, as to the whole of this expedition; but what refiftance can be expected to such a general as Tamerlane, commanding armies of hardy veterans, from a people whofe courage was enervated by luxury, indolence, and superftition? The whole of Tamerlane's progrefs prefented continual scenes of rapine and maffacres, which are so far from being disguised by his own hiftorians, that they mention them as meritorious. Juft before he arrived at Delhi, he ordered a hundred thousand of his prifoners to be murdered in one day in cold blood; and double that number were put to the fword, before he took poffeffion of that capital. It may be proper to obferve in this place, that, according to Ferifhta, and other hiftorians of credit, the Hindoos were very fufceptible of defpair; but the confequence of it generally was, that inftead of fighting their enemies (as they might have often done with great fuccefs) they murdered themselves, their wives and children, as appears by the following quotation.

Timur was then bufy in his camp, in celebrating a grand festival, on account of his victory, fo that it was five days before he received any intelligence of these proceedings. The firft notice he had of them, was by the flames of the city; for the Hindoos, according to their manner, feeing their wives and daughters ravished and polluted, their wealth feized by the hand of rapine, and they themselves infulted, beat, and abufed, at length, by one confent, fhut the city gates, fet fire to their houses, murthered their wives and children, and ran out like madmen against their enemies.

• But little effect had the despair of the unfortunate upon the Moguls, who foon collected themselves, and began a general maffacre. Some ftreets were rendered impaffable, by the heaps of dead; and, in the mean time, the gates being forced, the whole Mogul army were admitted, Then followed a scene of horror, much easier to be imagined than described.

The defperate courage of the unfortunate Delhians, was at length cooled in their own blood. They threw down their weapons, they fubmitted themselves like sheep to the flaughter. They permitted one man to drive a hundred of them prifoners before him; fo that we may plainly perceive, that cowardice is the mother of defpair. In the city the Hindoos were, at leaft,

R 3

tea.